Ghislaine Maxwell claims infamous photo of Prince Andrew with Giuffre is 'fake'

UK former socialite Ghislaine Maxwell has recently claimed that an infamous photograph of her with Virginia Giuffre and Prince Andrew is fake. 

Supposedly photographed in March 2001 at Maxwell's London residence, the image depicts her standing in the background and smiling widely. Echoing Andrew's previous assertion, she said, “This photo is not real," adding, “There was never an original one produced,” The Sun reported.  

These remarks of Maxwell came for the first time since being imprisoned. In an exclusive interview, Ghislaine Maxwell, who is currently serving a 20-year sentence for trafficking adolescent girls, talked about her "dear friend" Prince Andrew. 

During the interview, Maxwell refused to comment on Virginia Louise Giuffre, who sued Prince Andrew for sexual assault and later accepted an estimated $12 million in damages previously this year. She further said, “I don’t even want to start talking about Virginia.” It is pertinent to mention that after a devastating 2015 email surfaced from Maxwell, the Prince decided not to defend himself against Giuffre's lawsuit and agreed to pay up, making him a pariah in the Palace and barring him from performing royal tasks. 

Ghislaine Maxwell remarked on the photo

In addition to this, Alan Dershowitz, who was sexual offender Jeffrey Epstein's attorney, had questioned Maxwell about the veracity of the image. To which she said, "It looks real. I think it is." Challenging that statement now, Maxwell retorted, “I don’t recognise that picture and I don’t believe it is a real picture.” She then asserted that the only thing she had intended to convey in that email was that she recognised her own home, The Sun reported.  

Maxwell said incoherently, "I said, it is that image that, whatever it is, I recognise it as my house.” She went on to clarify, “But I have come to discover that image I don’t believe is true. And the original has never been produced because it doesn’t exist. I don’t believe that image is a true image.” 

Besides this, Ghislaine Maxwell claimed that it would never have occurred to her that someone would have made a photograph or done something with a picture at that time. According to her, “I recognised the surroundings of that photograph, nothing more than that.”  

According to Maxwell, there are more than 50 flaws with the photo that made her believe it was a forgery. 

Furthermore, 60-year-old Maxwell seemed startled when she was informed that the Prince's attorneys had asserted that they had never been close. Referring to the statement, Maxwell added, “I accept that this friendship could not survive my conviction.” She also said, “He is paying such a price for the association. I consider him a dear friend. I care about him," The Sun reported.

(Image: AP/ Twitter)